48% of NSE firms have no women as key managers; women losing out on higher paid jobs: study

Almost half of the 2,647 companies listed on the National Stock Exchange do not have any women in key managerial positions at all, according to an analysis of company submissions. On average, there were 0.64 women in these positions per company in 2024-25, with only 10% of firms listed on the NSE employing more than one woman in such leadership positions.

The study, conducted by the Udaiti Foundation, a non-profit organisation, found that women’s representation in the formal workforce remained at 18%, a decrease of one percentile point compared to 2020-21. The situation is even worse among formal workers earning more than ₹18,000 per month — while women made up 21% of this group in 2020-21, their share had shrunk to just 12% in 2024-25. In contrast, the representation of women among lower-paid employees, as defined by the Code on Wages, rose from 19% to 23% over the same period, indicating that women are being shut out of higher-paying jobs in the formal sector, and shunted to lower-wage positions.